Automatic guns including a recoiling system



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AUTOMATIC GUNS INCLUDING A REcoILING SYSTEM aan B Armwfy AUTOMATIC GUNSINCLUDING vA REcoTLTNG SYSTEM Filed Jan. 21, 1954 A. BILLARD Jan. 28,1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 zum @Q98 W A TruRJvEy AUTOMATIC GUNS INCLUDING ARECGILING SYSTEM Alexandre Billard, Paris, France, assgnor to SocietedExploitation des Materiels Hispano-Suiza, Bois-Colomhes, France, asociety of France Application January 21, 1954, Serial No. 405,426

Claims priority, application France January 30, 1953 2 Claims. (Cl.89-137) The present invention relates to automatic guns including aplurality of parts movable with respect to one another, said partsperforming, every time a shot is tired, a series or cycle of operationswhich will be hereinafter called tiring cycle, while one 4of said partshas, upon every tiring of a shot, a recoil movement followed by a returninto initial position with respect to its support (counter-recoilmovement), this recoil and counter-recoil cycle being hereinafterlcalled recoil cycle. Of course, the recoil cycle period cannot belonger than the firing cycle period. As a matter of fact, it isgenerally much shorter.

My invention is exclusively concerned, among such guns, with those inwhich the recoil cycle serves to perform `at least one of the operationsof the tiring cycle, for instance the feed of cartridges to guns.

Of course, in such guns, this operation must be so timed with respect tothe firing cycle that said cycle can take place without perturbance.However, jamming sometimes occurs, in particular when the tiringcircumstances are abnormal, for instance under very low temperatures,with a defective lubrication, and so on.

My invention consists chiey in arranging the guns above described insuch manner that their recoil cycle is delayed when necessary so thatwhen a part cooperating in the firing cycle has been accidentally sloweddown, said ring cycle can catch up with the recoil thus delayed.

My invention is especially applicable to guns including a breech-blockmovable with respect to a recoiling system and in which the frontwardreturn movement of this recoiling system with respect to the supportserves to control, at the end of the transverse feed -of the next freshcartridge to be tired toward its waiting position (position from whichsaid cartridge is to be pushed frontwardly by the breech-block into thecartridge chamber), and in this case my invention consists inprovidingthe gun with temporary locking means interposed between therecoiling system and the support, so as to prevent the end of thetransverse feed movement of the next cartridge from being caused by thereturn of the recoil system in the frontward direction before thebreech-block, which is then moving rearwardly, has fully cleared theplace that is to be occupied by said cartridge, lat the end of itstransverse feed movement.

A preferred embodiment of my invention will be hereinafter describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by way ofexample, `and in which:

Figs. l and 2 diagrammatically show in horizontal section an automaticgun made according to my invention, the parts being shown in twodifferent lrelative positions in these two figures, respectively.

Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views 0n the lines III-III of Fig. l and1V1V of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows the same gun in top plan view, with parts cut away.

The gun sh-own by the drawing includes a movable breech-block 1 slidablein a breech-case 2 rigid with the barrel 3 of the gun, this breech-case2 and this barrel 3 nited States Patent() ice constituting what has beencalled the recoiling system in the preceding paragraphs.

This recoiling system 2-3 is slidable with respect to a xed system orsupport 4, and between this support 4 and the recoiling system 2-3 thereis interposed a resilient device such as known in the art anddiagrammatically represented in the drawing by a spring 5. Of course,this spring can be combined with any suitable shock absorbing system,for instance a hydraulic one.

Preferably, at the rear of support 4 there is provided a ringaccelerator which may be constituted by a spring 6 against whichbreech-block 1 rebounds at the end of its stroke.

This gun is provided with a cartridge feed device such that thecounter-recoil movement of the recoiling system 2--3 with respect tosupport 4 causes, every time a shot is fired, said feed device to bringa cartridge into waiting position.

For this purpose, said feed device is made for instance as shown byFigs. 3 to 5.

The feed device includes a carriage 7 reciprocable transversely withrespect to support 4 in a guide 8, this carriage 7 carrying at least oneretractable pawl 9.

During every stroke of carriage toward the right hand side of Fig. 4,pawl 9 retracts when meeting the links (constituted by cartridges) ofthe cartridge belt.

During the next stroke in the opposed direction pawl 9 pushes thecartridge belt toward the left a distance equal to the pitch, so as tobring the irst Icartridge of said belt into its position shown at A onFig. 4 where it is ready for introduction into the cartridge chamber.

ln order to control the reciprocating movement of carriage 7, there isprovided a lever 10 the rear end 11 of which acts upon a trunnioncarried by carriage 7 and the frontend 12 of which `carries a roller 13engaged in an oblique slot 14 provided in a part of the recoilingsystern 2 3.

The general arrangement is such that, during the recoil movement of therecoiling system 2--3, slot 14, which acts upon roller 13, produces anoscillation of lever 10 such that the head 11 of this lever movescarriage 7 transversely (toward the right of Fig. 4) a distance at leastequal to the pitch of the movement of the cartridge belt. During thenext counter-recoil movement of the recoiling system 2 3, carriage 7 ismoved transversely in the opposed direction (that is to say toward theleft hand side of Fig. 4) whereby at the end of this movement the firstcartridge of the cartridge belt has been brought into its introductionposition A.

Now, according to my invention, I interpose, advantageously betweenbreech-case 2 and support 4, temporary locking means capable ofpostponing the end of the transverse feed movement of the iirst freshcartridge until breech-block 1, in the course of its rearward movement,has temporarily cleared the place which is to be occupied by a. freshcartridge in introduction position, i. e. until breech-block 1, in thecourse of its rearward movement, has reached a position where thedistance between its front end and the rear end of the cartridge chamberis greater than the length of a cartridge.

For this purpose, for instance, I pivot on each of the side walls ofsupport 4, on either side of the side walls of breech-case 2, a pawl 15capable of cooperating in such manner with a bearing surface 16 providedin the corresponding side wall of the breech-case that, for apredetermined position of the recoiling system in the course of itscounter-recoil movement, a spring 17 tends to bring each pawl 15 intocontact with the corresponding bearing surface 16. It will be understoodthat if this takes place the recoiling system is held back in a positionfor which spring 5 is compressed.

But I provide each of the pawls 15 with a surface 18 such that, if saidpawl has been able to act as an abutment for the corresponding bearingsurface 16, this surface 18 comes across the path followed bybreech-block 1 in its rearward movement. And, in such a case, the actionof the movable breech-block 1 on inclined surface 18 disengages pawl 15from its bearing surface 16, and the recoiling system 2 3 is releasedand can finish its counter-recoil stroke, thus causing the first freshcartridge to be fed into introduction position A.

It will be understood that if care is taken to time the meeting ofsurfaces 18 with breech-block 1 so that it takes place only after saidbreech-block has moved rearwardly a distance sufficient to clear theplace to be occupied by a fresh cartridge in position A, no jamming canthen take place if, accidentally, the rearward movement of breech-VYblock 1 is abnormally slowed down.

Advantageously, instead of pivoting each of the pawls 15 directly uponthe support 4, shock absorbing means are interposed between these twoelements, these means being for instance constituted by pivoting eachpawl about a spindle 19 mounted on a sliding piece 20 capable of beingpushed back rearwardly, with respect to support 4, by a spring 21, ahydraulic shock absorber being advantageously further interposed betweeneach sliding member 20 and support 4 so as to brake the frontwarddisplacement undergone by the two sliding pieces under the effect of theshock which takes place when the recoiling system 2 3 engages pawls 15.

Of course, when firing takes place normally, synchronism of the recoilcycle and of the firing cycle is ensured without any action of thepostponing system 15--16 which has just been described, this synchronismresulting from the suitable determination of the ballistic effects, fromthe characteristics of the springs that are brought into play, upon thestate of the surfaces of sliding pieces and upon the viscosity of thelubricants.

As a matter of fact, it is perfectly possible to provide a firearm whichhas, under protected working conditions for a sufficiently long time, agood synchronism of the two cycles which achieves a satisfactorystability of its operation.

But, as above stated, when used in active service, at very high or verylow temperatures, under the effect of wear and tear of the parts and ofthe weakening of the springs, it happens that the desired synchronism isno longer obtained. In this case, the postponing system which has justbeen described starts operating, whereby, if for some reason thebreech-block is lagging in its rearward movement with respect to themovement of the breech-case, the end of the counter-recoil movement ofthe recoiling system is delayed so that a fresh cartridge can in no casecome to jam the movable breech-block and stop the operation of the gun.

In a general manner, while I have, in the above description, disclosedwhat I deem to be practical and ethcient embodiments of my invention, itshould be well understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto asthere might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form ofthe parts without departing from the principle of the present inventionas comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic gun which comprises, in combination, a. support, abreech-case reciprocable longitudinally in said support with a recoiland counter-recoil movement on every tiring of a shot, a barrel integralwith said breech-case at the front thereof, a breech-block recprocablelongitudinally in said breech-case, transversely reciprocating meanscarried by said support to feed cartridges along a transverse pathsuccessively into a position located in the same longitudinal planeperpendicular to said path as said barrel at the rear thereof,cooperating means carried by said support and said breech-case forcontrolling said cartridge feed means in response to the recoil andcounter-recoil of said breechcase in said support, said breech-casebeing provided in its side walls with at least one bearing surfaceturned toward the front end of the gun, at least one emergency pawlpivotally mounted in the side Wall of said support capable of engagingsaid bearing surface, resilient means for urging said pawl toward saidbearing surface, said pawl being arranged to project, when in contactwith said bearing surface, across the path of said breechblock, andmeans carried by said breech-block for preventing, during the rearwardmovement of said breechblock with respect to said breech-case undernormal operation conditions of said gun, said pawl from engaging saidbearing surface said last mentioned means being therefor capable ofretracting said pawl from engagement with said bearing surface when,accidentally, said last' mentioned means have not prevented saidengagement.

2. An automatic gun comprising, in combination, a support, a barrelhaving a cartridge chamber, a breech case rigidly connected to saidbarrel, said barrel and breech case being reciprocable longitudinally insaid support, spring means for opposing recoil of said breech case, abreech block reciprocable longitudinally in said breech case, resilientmeans for yieldingly opposing at least the end of the rearward movementof said breech block and producing the frontward movement thereof, acartridge feeding mechanism, means pivotally mounted on said support andinter-connecting said breech case and said cartridge feeding mechanismfor bringing a cartridge into position behind the cartridge chamber uponevery counter recoil movement of said breech case, and means carried bysaid support and being mounted for movement into engagement with saidbreech case on recoil movement thereof, said means being disposed in thepath of movement of said breech block when engaged with said breech caseand adapted to be disengaged from said breech case by said breech block,said last-named means preventing counter-recoil movement of the breechcase prior to recoil movement of the breech block to a position wherethe distance between the front end thereof and the rear end of thecartridge chamber is greater than the length of the cartridge.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,985,493 Gebauer et al Dec. 25, 1934 2,108,026 Sutter et al. Feb. 8,1938 2,389,960 Dobremysl Nov. 27, 1945 2,557,134 Mudespacher June 19,1951 2,756,640 Maillard July 31, 1956

